Man to Man

I've enjoyed the show so far (Only on the second episode). It's pretty funny while being dramatic which is what I usually enjoy in a show. There's some action in it too but I wouldn't really watch it for that. It's just a nice addition. It might not be for you if you want a drama show with perfectly nuanced acting because this is more of a comedy drama show. It'll have a bit more over acting and less serious lines or scenarios.

Wow this show was melodramatic! Like suuuuuper melodramatic - although I will say that was part of its charm for sure. For the most part the melodrama added a cute comedic quality to this drama that was for the most part charming and exciting. The serious moments were done well, and the chemistry between K and Dark Death was what made the show enjoyable and worth watching for me. However I have to say that I felt that the chemistry between K and Do-ha was lacking, and the slow-motion romance moments with the same (really annoying) song felt frustrating and overdone. Also the English-speaking parts were very cringy, but definitely not the worst I've see in K-Dramas. Overall it was a fun watch, and K's facial expressions in the beginning when he had to deal with the spoiled, egotistical movie star he is guarding were absolutely delightful!

I actually like the action part of this show more than the "romantic" aspect of it. I found the girl to be a bit annoying. With all the far more beautiful women that kept popping up on the show, I would have expected the lead woman to at least be more interesting and likable. She had high expectations of a guy who she really was only "dating" for two days. After finding out he was a special agent and using her, she expected everything to be back to normal afterward and didn't understand why he "left". There were just certain aspects of her character that just made cringe a little. I hope he runs off and leaves her at the end because she really is dragging down the show. I'm only on the tenth episode and getting close to my breaking point because of her character. I just don't see the chemistry between the two of them. Ick... Although, I'm continuing to watch the show because of the action and the bromance between the two guys. It's kinda cute...

The best aspect of this show, IMO, is the on-screen chemistry between Park Hae-Jin & Park Sung-woong. The latter, especially, since I'm so used to watching Him in a role as "the Big Baddie"... and clearly Someone in Movie-world agreed, as these two Gentleman go on to co-star in The Killing Vote a handful of years later.

Now for the critique: The Storytelling - while having great potential - was totally bogged down with Too Many Details. I counted no less than 4 different Storylines, loosely connected by some "artifacts mission" which I still - now at episode 8 - am fuzzy on. Also, there are Too Many Bad Guys, which prevents My brain from channeling My hate towards one specific character - "when everybody's a Bad Guy, nobody's a Bad Guy" - which works against My Own engagement in the Story, as a Viewer. Finally: WTF with Do-ha's hair?!? It makes Her look like a 14-yr old, which does Kim Min-jung a disservice... I have a hard time believing Seol-woo truly 'falls in love' with Her, since He/the character is too internal with His own feelings & motivations. *More 'inside-his-head verbal chatter as He takes external/visible actions' would have helped overcome this barrier*

Lastly - and I found this to be the most triggering for Me personally - making Seol-woo verbally cut Do-ha down in terms of Her personality, characteristics, and identity when He was advancing His Own agenda was a sh#tty way to do it. I'm guessing whoever wrote these scenes figured, "it's okay - Seol-woo is a Hot Guy, so He can get away with it..." Uh, No. NO!! This is a terrible Seed to Plant for the Audience, and it perpetuates this same bad behavior to be reproduced/copied/mimicked out here in the Real World - particularly with Viewers that identify personally with Seol-woo in this Story. So, IMO? A total Rookie mistake with this writing choice.

Despite these wrinkles - and not being one to "throw the baby out with the bathwater" - Imma keep watching through to the final episode. Cheers!

I particularly enjoyed seeing Min-Jung Kim again after loving Mr Sunshine. Although this series is not anywhere near as good as that, Min-Jung Kim lit up the screen whenever she appeared.

Without her it is an entertaining enough watch, with goodies triumphant and baddies punished. The bromance between the two male leads provided some decent comedy too.